Chapter 14 Notes – Weathering and Erosion
Constructive Forces/Processes – forces or processes that add-to or create __________ land
features to the landscape.
Destructive Forces/Processes – forces or processes that take-away or break ________ land
features from the landscape.
Weathering – is the process of breaking down rock and minerals into _________________ pieces.
•
The smaller, loose ___________ are called sediment.
• Sand, Silt, & Clay are used to describe specific types of sediment.

Mechanical weathering - occurs when forces ______________ or chip rocks and minerals
into smaller pieces without changing their composition
o Wet/Dry Conditions
o Running Water
o Frost Wedging
o Animals
o Plants
o Wind – abrasion

Chemical weathering – occurs when chemical reactions between ____________ and
rock/mineral grains break rock/minerals into smaller pieces.
o Pollution (Acid Rain)
o Plants
o Animals
Erosion is the process of moving pieces of rock and _____________ by wind, water, ice, or gravity

Gravity is the force of attraction that _______________ all objects toward Earth’s center/core.

Other causes of erosion, also called agents of erosion, are ___________, wind, and glaciers.
The process of depositing sediment after it has been _______________ by water, wind, or ice is
called deposition.

A large mass of ice and snow moving on ____________ under is won weight is called a
glacier.

Wind can move particles of sediment from one ____________ to another called deflation.

Mass wasting/Mass Movement is the downhill movement of ____________ amounts of rock
and
sediment due to the force of gravity.

Erosion by rivers is an important ____________of why land looks the way it does at any given
time.